Lover Unleashed (2011) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

• Manuel Manello: "Manny" - Surgeon; Jane's ex-boss; Six feet tall and stacked; Has black hair and brown eyes; 45 years old,single
• Payne: Vishous' twin sister; The Scribe Virgin is her birth mother, who imprisoned her for centuries; Has black hair and ice white eyes with a navy blue rim around them; Has a long, lean and strong build; About six feet tall; 305 years old
• Vishous: "V" - Payne's twin brother; Jane's hellren; A member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood; He has the power of premonition; The Scribe Virgin is his birth mother; 305 years old; Has black hair and ice white eyes with a navy blue rim around them; Has a long, lean and strong build at six-foot-six and two hundred fifty pounds
• Jane Whitcomb: "Doc Jane" - Vishous' shellan; A ghost; Used to be Manny's co-worker; Has forest green eyes
• The Scribe Virgin: Creator of all vampires; Birth mother of Vishous and Payne
• The Bloodletter: Vishous and Payne's father; A terrible man; Formerly of the Black Dagger Brotherhood
• Xcor: Bent on revenge upon the one that killed his father; Leader of the Band of Bastards; Illiterate; Has black hair, dark blue eyes and a cleft lip
• Wrath: King of the vampires and the last pureblood vampire in existence; He is completely blind but still more than capable of fighting and leading the race; Beth's hellren; Has waistlong black hair
• Beth Randall: Wrath's shellan; John's sister; Darius' daughter
• Butch O'Neal: "Dhestroyer" - "Cop" - Marissa's hellren; The only human to be allowed within the Brotherhood; Is a descended from Wrath. This connection to him allows him to be "turned" and he is initiated in the BDB; Has a very close relationship with Vishous; An ex-homicide detective; The object of an ancient Lesser Prophecy, and has the ability to sense lessers wherever they are and can absorb them into himself; Has hazel eyes
• Marissa: Butch's shellan; Has long blonde hair
• Rhage: "Hollywood" - Strongest and most beautiful of the Brothers; Cursed by The Scribe Virgin, he is possessed with a dark side that is a danger to everyone; Mary's hellren; Has blond hair
• Mary Luce: Rhage's shellan; Counselor
• Zsadist: "Z" - The scarred, menacing Brother; Taken as an infant from his family, he's forced into blood slavery until his twin, Phury rescues him; Bella's hellren
• Bella: Zsadist's shellan; Rehvenge's sister
• Nalla: Zsadist & Bella's daughter
• Phury: Zsadist's twin brother; Cormia's hellren; A member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood; Phury is incredibly loyal to his brother, even shooting off his own leg to save his twin; His noble nature went so far as to help release Vishous from being "Primale" to the Chosen
• Cormia: Phury's shellan
• Darius: A member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood; He was killed by a lesser with a carbomb
• John Matthew: "Tehrror" - Future Black Dagger Brotherhood member; Mute; Darius' son; Beth's brother; Xhex's hellren; Has blue eyes
• Xhex: John's shellan; Symphath assassin. Half vampire/half symphath.
• Rehvenge: "Rehv" - Zsadist's brother-in-law; Half symphath; He is also a member of the vampire aristocracy and the "Princeps Leahdyre" of its council; Bella's brother; Symphath King; Ehlena's hellren; Has a mohawk. Former drug king of Caldwell
• Ehlena: Rehvenge's shellan; Nurse; Has blonde hair
• Tohrment: "Tohr" - Took over leadership of the Brotherhood when Wrath became King; He was the steady and calm brother, until a tragedy took the life of his shellan, Wellsie and his unborn son; He disappears until Lover Enshrined, returning weak and emaciated
• Lassiter: An angel; He is the one that saved Tohrment
• Blaylock: "Blay" - John's friend; A soldier in the war against the Omega and the Lessers; He is gay and is in love with Qhuinn, placing an increased strain on their friendship; Currently he lives with John and the Brothers; Has red hair and blue eyes. Involved with Saxton.
• Qhuinn: John Matthew's ahstrux nohstrum; John & Blay's best friend; Has one blue and one green eye and is color blind, both seen as defects to the vampire aristocracy; Lives with John and the Brothers after his family disowned him; He is a playboy with commitment issues, preferring a steady stream of anonymous sex; Is on love with Blay but won't admit it; A wahlker(a person who has died and returned to the living from the Fade)
• Fritz Perlmutter: "Fritzgelder Perlmutter" - The Brotherhood's doggen(member of the servant class amoung the vampires)
• The Omega: He is the opposite of the Scribe Virgin; He is the creator of lessers. The Scribe Virgin's brother.
• Saxton: "Sax" - Qhuinn's cousin; Has blond hair and gray eyes. Blay's first lover.
• José de la Cruz: A homicide detective; He was Butch's partner.Now partner to Thomas DelVecchio..
• Thomas DelVecchio: "Veck" - "Thomas DelVecchio Jr." - José de la Cruz's new partner; Has dark hair and dark blue eyes
• Throe: Part of Xcor's Band of Bastards; Xcor's right hand; Good with computers; Has golden hair and sky blue eyes
• Zypher: Part of Xcor's Band of Bastards
• Candace Hanson: Golddigging slut
• GloryGloryHallelujah: "Glory" - Manny's race horse,a black filly nearly 17 hands high
• Havers: Vampire doctor; Marissa's brother
• Thomas Goldberg: Chief of Trauma Surgery; Jane's replacement at St. Francis after she "died"
• Hannah Whitcomb: Jane's younger sister; Died a long time ago
• Max: Anesthesiologist at St. Francis Hospital
• Layla: A Chosen; An ehros(A chosen trained in the matters of sexual arts); Has pale blonde hair and green eyes
• Rodriguez: Police Officer
• Jones: Police Officer
• Mary Ellen: "M.E." - Police Dispatcher
• Dr. Theodore Benedict Standford III: Manny's old surgery professor
• Paul: Manny's friend; Legs are paralyzed; Mayor of Caldwell; Has blue eyes
• Murhder: A member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood; Went crazy
• Thomas DelVecchio Sr.: Veck's father; Serial killer on death row
• Karrie Ravisc: "Kandy" - Prostitute
• Mack: Karrie's pimp
• George: Golden retriever; Wrath's Seeing Eye dog
• David Kroner: Serial killer. He is murdering young women in Caldwell.
• Robert Bluff: Manny's father; A surgeon

Quotes edit see section history

• “Manny really didn’t like other people driving his Porsche 911 Turbo. In fact, short of his mechanic, no one else ever did.”

• “Life was what you determined it to be; regardless of where fate put you, logic and free will meant you could make your cabbage patch anything the fuck you wanted.”

  Qhuinn's POV

• “You need to back off, my man. I want you out in the hall." The response he got to that news flash was . . . just fang-tastic. The bastard bared a pair of shockingly long canines and growled, natch, like a dog.”

  Manny to Vishous

• “How old are you?” he asked abruptly. He might be a letch, but he didn’t do underage anything. She was sure as hell built like an adult, but who knew what their maturity rate was—"I am three hundred and five years of age.” Blink. Blink. Annnnnnd one more for good measure. Sure as shit that had to be of age, he thought. “So you’re marriageable?”

  Manny and Payne

• “You’re not in love with me, either, Layla. You just aren’t. You felt a lot of physical shit, and that made you think it was emotional. The trouble is, body needs a hell of a lot less than the soul does to connect.”

  Qhuinn to Layla

• “As those brows disappeared under the wraparounds again, V thought, man, even though the king was fully blind, he still appeared to focus like he always did. Which kind of made you feel like you had a gun sight trained on your frontal lobe.”

• “Butch tightened his grip on his cell and wished there were an app that let you reach through a phone and bitch slap someone.”

• “Let me save you from a lesson I learned the hard way. There are times when it is too late. He’s happy now—and he deserves that. Fuck it, I want him to have love, even if I’m just watching it from on the sidelines.”

  Qhuinn

• “Vishous stood in the hall outside the Brotherhood’s medical clinic with a hand-rolled between his lips and a thumb that was getting a terrific frickin’ workout. No flame to speak of, though, no matter how many times he masturbated the lighter’s little wheel.”

• “His hands did not tremble ever so slightly. Nope. They did not. They shook like a motherfucker.”

  Manny

• “I know what I married. I know who you are. There’s nothing that’s going to shock me—now hang up the phone and get home.”

  Jane Whitcomb

• “I would do anything for you. Anything.”

  Vishous to Payne

• “Fucking hell, he’d never wanted to worship the law of gravity before, but he did now: He wanted to prostrate himself at Newton’s altar and weep with gratitude for the blessing that made all things fall to the goddamn ground.”

  Manny

• “Oh … for shit’s sake. Do not crank my crap out and tell me they’ve hooked up." V remained silent, grabbing the pouch and busying himself with the pinching stage of things. “I’m waiting for you to tell me I got it wrong.” Wrath let his glasses fall back into place. “Still waiting.”

  Wrath to Vishous

• “V closed his eyes and briefly shut his brain down. With his best friend’s big barrel chest up against his own, and the knowledge that he and Jane were tight again, his world was complete. Now, if he could just keep his sister off the streets and out of the alleys at night … life would be frickin’ perfect.”

• “Every once in a while, Qhuinn’s death came back to him. It happened in dreams. In rare moments when he was still and quiet. And sometimes just to fuck his head for kicks and giggles.”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “Love can conquer everything but reality. Which will win every stinking time.”

  Highlighted by 192 Kindle customers

• Life was what you determined it to be; regardless of where fate put you, logic and free will meant you could make your cabbage patch anything the fuck you wanted.

  Highlighted by 126 Kindle customers

• When you were trying to get away from yourself, you gravitated to the loud and obnoxious, to the extremes, to the reckless, because it forced you to scramble and hang on with your clawing nails to cliffs of your own self-invention.

  Highlighted by 124 Kindle customers

• The trouble is, body needs a hell of a lot less than the soul does to connect.”

  Highlighted by 106 Kindle customers

• “You’re the reason I get out of bed every night. And you’re the reason I can’t wait to come home every dawn. Not the war. Not the Brothers. Not even Butch. It’s . . . you.”

  Highlighted by 84 Kindle customers

• “I would do anything for you. Anything.” With that, he pushed his way out . . . and as the door eased shut, she realized that I love you could indeed be said without actually uttering the phrase. Actions did mean more than words.

  Highlighted by 72 Kindle customers

• Love, he realized, was like the daggers he made in his forge: When you first got one, it was shiny and new and the blade glinted bright in the light.

  Highlighted by 70 Kindle customers

• “What the hell, V.” Butch tightened his grip on his cell and wished there were an app that let you reach through a phone and bitch slap someone.

  Highlighted by 62 Kindle customers

• Fucking hell, he’d never wanted to worship the law of gravity before, but he did now: He wanted to prostrate himself at Newton’s altar and weep with gratitude for the blessing that made all things fall to the goddamn ground.

  Highlighted by 50 Kindle customers

• Undeterred by his lack of enthusiasm, she leaned forward, flashing him a set of breasts that didn’t so much defy gravity as flip it off, insult its mother, and piss on its shoes.

  Highlighted by 49 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Caldwell, New York
• St. Francis Hospital: Hospital where Manny works
• Tricounty Equine Hospital: Horse hospital in Queens, NY
• The Commodore: Apartment building
• Pine Grove Cemetery: where Jane's fake grave can be found.
• The Iron Mask: Nightclub
• Riverside Diner: Twenty-four hour diner
• Safe Place: A safe haven for abused women & children vampires
• Monroe Motel & Suites

Organizations edit see section history

• Black Dagger Brotherhood: Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, selfreliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed by only the most serious of wounds, e.g., a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.
• Lessening Society: Order of slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.
• Band of Bastards: The opposite of the Brotherhood in every way.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ahstrux Nohtrum: Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the king.
• Ahvenge: To commit an act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.
• Blood Slave: male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.
• The Chosen: Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and that practice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Chrih: Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.
• Cohntehst: Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female’s mate.
• Dhunhd: Hell.
• Doggen: Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.
• Ehros: A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.
• Exhile Dhoble: The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• First Family: The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.
• Ghardian: Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.
• Glymera: The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England's ton.
• Hellren: Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.
• Leahdyre: A person of power and influence.
• Leelan: A term of endearment loosely translated as 'dearest one'.
• Lesser: De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.
• Lewlhen: Gift.
• Lheage: A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her dominant.
• Lhenihan: A mythic beast renowned for its sexual prowess. In modern slang, it refers to a male of preternatural size and sexual stamina.
• Lys: Torture tool used to remove the eyes.
• Mahmen: Mother. Used both as an identifier and a term of affection.
• Mhis: The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.
• Nalla (f), Nallum (m): Beloved.
• Needing Period: Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. all males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
• Newling: a virgin.
• The Omega: Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed towards the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.
• Phearsom: Term referring to the potency of a male's sexual organs. Literal translation something close to "worthy of entering a female".
• Princeps: Highest level of vampire aristocracy, second only to the members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.
• Pyrocant: Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
• Rahlman: Savior.
• Rythe: Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself- without defenses.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mystical force who is counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exist in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
• Sehclusion: Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female's family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.
• Shellan: Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.
• Sympath: Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near extinction.
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• Trahyner: Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely to "beloved friend".
• Transition: Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally int he mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.
• Vampire: Member of a species separate from that of homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into the sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot "convert" humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in a rare cases able to breed with other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.
• Wahlker: An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.
• Whard: Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Lover Mine, and followed by Lover Reborn.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. J. R. Ward (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• AAR Annual Reader Poll 2012 (2011: Guiltiest Pleasure Romance, Winner)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3623.A73227 L695 2010
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually explicit material and violence.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• J. R. Ward: Author's website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history